FAQs: CoordinatedEntry Housing Priority List Placement and Movement
Suburban Metro Continuum of Care (SMAC)
Anoka, Carver, Scott, Dakota & Washington Counties
- Q: What is Coordinated Entry (CE)?
A: CE is a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access and are quickly identified, assessed, referred, and eventually connected to housing and/or assistance based on their strengths and needs.
- Q: What is a VI-SPDAT (housing assessment)?
A: VI-SPDAT stands for Vulnerability Index Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool. It’s a pre-screening tool (or triage tool) that allows homeless service providers to similarly assess and prioritize people who are homeless and help identify who to treat first based on their needs. It is a brief survey that provides a recommendation (or score) for the level of support and housing interventions that would be beneficial for the individual or household taking the assessment.
- Q: How long will it take to be connected to a housing opportunity?
A: Please be informed that there are no timeframes available as to how long it may take to be matched to a housing opportunity. The CE Priority List Manager does not know when a housing provider will have an opening until the housing provider contacts the Priority List Manager for a referral. The request from the housing provider is what triggers the Priority List Manager to review the CE Housing Priority List.
- Q: How are referrals made?
A: The Priority List Manager will review the CE Housing Priority List to determine who is the next eligible referral based on 1. Assessment recommendation (or score), 2. Date of the assessment, and 3. Eligibility for the housing option.
- Q: How will I know that I’ve been referred to a housing opportunity?
A: The process begins with the housing provider contacting the Priority List Manager to request a referral. The Priority List Manager will review the CE Housing Priority List for the next eligible referral. A referral is submitted from the Priority List Manager to the housing provider. Lastly, the housing provider will contact the household directly.
- Q: Why are some households referred to housing quicker than others?
A: The CE Housing Priority List is not a chronological housing “wait-list”. It’s not a first come, first serve list. Placement on the CE Housing Priority List is determined by assessment of vulnerability/homelessness, assessment recommendation, and date of assessment. There may be households prioritized higher than yours that were assessed after you. There may be households assessed before you and you may be prioritized higher than them. Upon completion of the housing assessment, you will receive a receipt explaining your suggested housing recommendation (score).
- Q: What if I’m not interested in the housing opportunity that’s being offered?
A: You have choice. You can choose to accept or decline the housing opportunity. If you don’t feel that the housing opportunity is an appropriate option for your household, you can decline and your name will remain on the CE Housing Priority List in the same spot for the next available housing option that you are eligible for.
- Q: Who are the housing providers and what services do they provide?
A: For a list of the participating CE SMAC housing providers, please visit
- Q: Is it a guarantee that I will be connected to a housing opportunity through Coordinated Entry?
A: Unfortunately, CE cannot guarantee a referral. Due to the high demand for housing and the limited number of program openings, it is uncertain if you will receive a referral through this system. You are strongly encouraged to continue to seek out other non-supportive housing options.
- Q: What if my circumstances change?
A: If you have any updates to your situation such as; a new phone number, shelter placement, additional household members or income,please contact your Housing Assessor. The contact information for your Housing Assessor is listed on your CE Supportive Housing Receipt. Updated information could affect your placement on the CE list. Ifyou have sufficient income and are in need of minimal assistance (such as a damage deposit), we may be able to assist you in connecting to mainstream resources.
- Q: What if I have concerns about the services I’ve received or feel that I was treated unfairly? What can I
do?
A: You have the right to let us know. You can submit a grievance in writing. The grievance will be looked at by a team working with the Coordinated Entry system. You can submit the grievance to any Access Point. You will be contacted once your grievance has been received.
- Q: I was asked if I wanted to live in any of the suburban metro counties, why is this an option?
A: The counties that make up SMAC include; Anoka, Carver, Scott, Dakota, and Washington. Beginning Jan 2017, the counties plan to merge their individual Coordinated Entry Priority Lists into one list for all of SMAC. This provides for a larger geographical area for housing options and preferences. There are some housing providers that have minimal or no residency requirements, therefore they will accept a referral from any county within SMAC.
For additional information on SMAC Coordinated Entry please visit: